Paul Henreid Paul Georg Julius Hernreid Freiherr von Wassel-Waldingau, (January 10, 1908 - March 29, 1992), known professionally as Paul Henreid, was an actor and film director probably best known for his roles in Casablanca and Now, Voyager. Born in Trieste which was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and now part of Italy, Henreid was the son of an aristocratic Viennese banker. He studied theatre in Vienna and debuted on the stage under the direction of Max Reinhardt. He began his acting career in German films in the 1930s, but left Austria in 1935 for Britain. A small featured role in Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) led him to Hollywood.
In 1942 he appeared in two films that would become the most recognisable of his career. In Now, Voyager, he played the married man that Bette Davis loved, and with Davis created one of the screen's most imitated scenes when he lit two cigarettes and handed one to her. He next appeared in Casablanca as Victor Laszlo, the husband of the Ingrid Bergman character.
He made regular film appearances throughout the 1940s, and in the early 1950s began directing for both film and television. His important film credits include The Spanish Main (1945), Of Human Bondage (1946), Song of Love (1947), Siren of Bagdad (1953), and The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1961). His television directorial credits include Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Maverick, Bonanza and The Big Valley. In 1964 Bette Davis, who had expressed both trust and admiration for Henreid since their first collaboration, was directed by Henreid in Dead Ringer. Henreid also directed his own daughter, Monica Henreid (an aspiring actress at the time) in the same film wherein she plays Davis's maid.
Henreid died from pneumonia at Santa Monica, California and was interred in the Woodlawn Cemetery.
He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame - for Motion Pictures at 6366 Hollywood Boulevard, and for Television at 1722 Vine Street.